Right now, millions of our patients stand to lose their health insurance if the Senate passes their healthcare bill. This would be disastrous for their health.

When a new drug comes on the market, we ask ourselves whether it would harm our patients before prescribing it. We need to think the same way about healthcare legislation.

If you think that the proposed legislation could harm your patients, join doctors, nurses and medical caregivers across the country who are calling the Senate. (We’ve named this the HouseCalls Campaign even though it’s the Senate that needs our medical opinion right now!)

As we all know, advocating for patients is as much a part of medical care as the medical care itself. It takes only a few minutes to make a call.

Call a Senator who supports BCRA

Before calling, click on this link to get an estimate of how many patients in your state will likely lose coverage (and how much premiums will be expected to rise.). It will also provide the email addresses of the legislative assistants, to whom you can send a follow-up email.

Caller: Hello, this is [Dr]___________. I am a [doctor/nurse/other health professional] and I’d like to know Senator’s___________position on the healthcare bill. (BCRA– (the Better Care Reconciliation Act)?

Staffer: Thank you for calling. Senator______________ supports BCRA because ObamaCare is collapsing.

Caller talking points:

If BCRA passes then [X, data here] people from [state] could lose their coverage.

It’s estimated that 1person will die each year for every 800 people who lose coverage. That’s about 20,000 Americans per year. [source]

This bill will cut Medicaid, increase premiums and allow states to get rid of protections for patients with pre-existing conditions. Everyone in [state] has a pre-existing condition.

Patients from [state] who lose coverage will still get sick. They will still end up in emergency rooms, ICUs, homeless shelters and morgues. [State] will still have to pay for their care, only they will be much sicker and it will cost much more.

As a [doctor/nurse] I know that my patients will suffer if they lose health insurance and access to medical care. I have an ethical duty to protect my patients’ health, that’s why I’m calling you.

Senator________ has an ethical duty to protect his/her constituents.

ObamaCare (Affordable Care Acti0 is not actually collapsing. In fact, has improved healthcare outcomes and has a positive economic effect, especially in rural areas. (source). It does have some flaws, and these should be fixed.

Most Americans support Obamacare. [source] The current Senate bill (BCRA) is rejected by a majority of Americans. [source]

Americans’ health depends on the Senate’s action. As a [doctor/nurse/other health professional] I’m asking Senator__________ to vote NO on BCRA and to engage a bipartisan effort to improve ObamaCare. This will be the best prescription for my patients’ health.

Call a Governor

Before calling, click on this link to get an estimate of how many patients in that state will likely lose coverage. It will also provide the name of the relevant Senator. This link give names and phone numbers of Governors.

Caller: Hello, this is [Dr]___________. I am a [doctor/nurse/other health professional]. I’m calling to talk to Governor___________about the Senate healthcare bill.

Talking points:

Governors know—even more than Senators—how their constituents will be affected by this legislation.

If this bill passes then [X, data here] people from [state] could lose their coverage.

It’s estimated that 1person will die each year for every 800 people who lose coverage.

This bill will cut Medicaid, increase premiums and allow states to get rid of protections for patients with pre-existing conditions. Everyone in [state] has a pre-existing condition.

Patients from [state] who lose coverage will still get sick. They will still end up in emergency rooms, ICUs, homeless shelters and morgues. [State] will still have to pay for their care, only they will be much sicker and it will cost much more.

As a [doctor/nurse] I know that my patients will suffer if they lose health insurance and access to medical care. I have an ethical duty to protect my patients’ health, that’s why I’m calling you.

Governor________ has an ethical duty to protect his/her constituents.

ObamaCare (Affordable Care Act) is not actually collapsing. In fact, has improved healthcare outcomes and has a positive economic effect, especially in rural areas. (source). It does have some flaws, and these should be fixed.

Most Americans support Obamacare. [source] The current Senate bill (BCRA) is rejected by a majority of Americans. [source]

The Senate can engage partisan shenanigans, but Governors have to actually govern. That is why I’m asking Governor__________ to convince Senator____________ to vote NO on BCRA and to engage instead in a bipartisan effort to improve ObamaCare. This will be the best prescription for my patients’ health.

Call Secretary Tom Price

Caller: Hello, this is [Dr]___________. I am a [doctor/nurse/other health professional]. I’m calling to talk to Dr. Price___________about the Senate healthcare bill.

Staffer: Thank you for calling. But Secretary Price doesn’t vote in the Senate.

Caller talking points:

If this bill passes, 22 million Americans could lose their coverage. People die when they don’t have insurance and medical care. (NEJM reference) It’s estimated that that 20,000 Americans will die each year as a result of the BCRA. (Slate reference)

Dr. Price [and I] recited the Hippocratic oath and pledged to “do no harm.” How does Dr. Price countenance the expected loss of life with his ethical duties as a physician?

Americans from who lose coverage will still get sick. They will still end up in emergency rooms, ICUs, homeless shelters and morgues. We will still have to pay for their care, only they will be much sicker and it will cost much more.

You are a Secretary now, but you are still a physician. As a physician you have a responsibility to “do no harm.” BCRA does extensive harm to patients

As Secretary, you are in a position to convince Senator McConnell to withdraw the bill and work instead to improve ObamaCare. As a physician, it is your ethical duty.

ObamaCare (Affordable Care Act) is not actually collapsing. In fact, has improved healthcare outcomes and has a positive economic effect, especially in rural areas. (source). It does have some flaws, and these should be fixed.

Most Americans support Obamacare. [source] The current Senate bill (BCRA) is rejected by a majority of Americans. [source]

Americans’ health depends on the Dr. Price’s actions. As a [doctor/nurse/other health professional] I’m asking Dr. Price to engage a bipartisan effort to improve ObamaCare. This will be the best prescription for my patients’ health.

Call a Senator who opposes BCRA

Before calling, click on this link to get an estimate of how many patients in your state will likely lose coverage (and how much premiums will be expected to rise.). It will also provide the email addresses of the legislative assistants, to whom you can send a follow-up email.

Caller: Hello, this is [Dr]___________. I am a [doctor/nurse/other health professional] and I’d like to know Senator’s___________position on the healthcare bill. (BCRA– (the Better Care Reconciliation Act)?

Staffer: Thank you for calling. Senator______________ is completely against BCRA.

Caller talking points:

Please tell me what Senator_____________ has done to oppose BCRA?

As a [doctor/nurse] I know that my patients will suffer if they lose health insurance and access to medical care. I have an ethical duty to protect my patients’ health, but I can’t do that if they lose their insurance. I am concerned that some of my patients could die because of the disruptions to their medical care. That’s what’s at stake.

As a [doctor/nurse/other health professional] I have to do whatever it takes to protect my patients’ health. I’m asking Senator__________ to do whatever it takes to defeat BCRA

I want Senator_______ to engage a bipartisan effort to improve ObamaCare. This will be the best prescription for my patients’ health.

Call Your Colleagues

Are You An Organization?

Every day, we medical professionals advocate on behalf of our patients. We call insurance companies to get prior authorizations, expedite procedures, and get medications approved because we know that medical treatment only helps if the patient can actually get the care.

But now millions of our patients may lose their health insurance or be priced out of the market. And losing health insurance equals losing medical care. As medical professionals, we know that this would be disastrous for our patients’ health.

The Senate plans to vote on their health care legislation, the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA), soon. Now’s the time to act.

As medical caregivers, we are in a unique position to offer our professional opinion to our legislators who may only have a passing familiarity with the world of health care.

Please consider calling your Senator to offer your professional opinion about the BCRA.

When a new drug comes on the market, we ask ourselves whether it would harm our patients before we consider prescribing it. We need to think the same way about healthcare legislation: will it harm our patients?

As we all know, advocating for patients is as much a part of medical care as the medical care itself.

Are You A Medical Professional?

Every day, we medical professionals advocate on behalf of our patients. We call insurance companies to get prior authorizations because we know that medical treatment only helps if the patient can actually get the care.

But now millions of our patients may lose their health insurance or be priced out of the market with the current legislation that has passed in the House and is coming to a vote in the Senate.

The Senate plans to vote on their Healthcare Bill soon, so we started a House Calls Campaign. (Ok, we need to call the Senate, not the House, but you get the idea). The plan is to blitz the Senate with calls from doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who have an ethical commitment to patient care.

We want medical caregivers to call their senators AND to call their medical organizations (AMA, SGIM, ACP, ANA).

We will especially need to contact doctors and nurses in Alaska, West Virginia, Maine, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Louisiana, Arkansas and Pennsylvania, (the 10 swing states in this vote). More information about these states along with unique scripts for each state can be found at Indivisible’s www.TrumpCareTen.org).

As medical caregivers, we are in a unique position to offer our professional opinion to our legislators who may only have a passing familiarity with the world of health care. We owe this to our patients. Because as we all know, advocating for patients is as much a part of medical care as the medical care itself.

Like you, I am deeply concerned that the Senate version of the AHCA will be harmful to our patients because so many will lose access to health care. I’m writing to ask _______to join us in HouseCallsCampaign, a national grassroots initiative aimed at encouraging individual practitioners across the country to call their Senators and offer their professional opinion about how this would be detrimental to our patients’ health.

We’re trying to emergently put this into action ahead of the upcoming Senate vote, and I’m hoping we can count on you to reach out to your members to advocate on behalf of our patients.

A loud public medical response would garner national media attention and would be a very powerful weapon in this effort to protect our patients. Would you be able to email your members?

We hope you will also be able to help publicize this on social media with the hashtag #HouseCallsCampaign.